Legionnaires' case prompts Auburn nursing home to restrict water use

AUBURN, N.Y. -- An Auburn nursing home has found bacteria that can cause Legionnaires' disease in its drinking water system after a resident tested positive for the respiratory illness.

The Commons at St. Anthony, a 300-bed facility operated by Loretto, is restricting water use until testing shows the water is safe.

Most healthy people exposed to Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires', do not get sick. People at risk of getting sick are elderly patients with weakened immune systems. About one of every 10 people who get sick with Legionnaires' dies due to complications from the illness, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infection occurs when contaminated water droplets are breathed into the lungs. The disease is not transmitted person to person.

The nursing home announced it found "trace amounts" of Legionella during a recent round of testing.

"There are no known cases of Legionella disease at the facility now and no one currently has symptoms," Ellen O'Connor, Loretto's chief operating officer said in a prepared statement.

She said the facility is taking actions recommended by the state Health Department.

"Filters have been installed on shower faucets and other remediation efforts are underway, so we expect to be able to use our water fairly soon," O'Connor said. "In the meantime, we are prepared with bottled water."

The Commons regularly tests its water and this is the first time any appreciable level of Legionella bacteria has been found, she said.

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse had an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease last year caused by Legionella in its drinking water. Three hospital patients, one of whom died, contracted Legionnaires' in the fall and a fourth was diagnosed in March. At least three of those patients caught the disease in the hospital.

The Commons at St. Anthony said it released information about the problem on Friday to residents, family and staff.

The nursing home was formed from the merger of the former Cayuga County Nursing Home and Mercy Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Legionnaires' is named after a 1976 outbreak among people who attended an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.